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Research on early medieval Cyprus has focused on the late antique
"golden age" (late fourth/early fifth to seventh century) and the
so-called Byzantine "Reconquista" (post-AD 965) while overlooking
the intervening period. This phase was characterized, supposedly,
by the division of the political sovereignty between the Umayyads
and the Byzantines, bringing about the social and demographic
dislocation of the population of the island. This book proposes a
different story of continuities and slow transformations in the
fate of Cyprus between the late sixth and the early ninth
centuries. Analysis of new archaeological evidence shows signs of a
continuing link to Constantinople. Moreover, together with a
reassessment of the literary evidence, archaeology and material
culture help us to reappraise the impact of Arab naval raids and
contextualize the confrontational episodes throughout the ebb and
flow of Eastern Mediterranean history: the political influence of
the Caliphate looked stronger in the second half of the seventh
century, the administrative and ecclesiastical influence of the
Byzantine empire was held sway from the beginning of the eighth to
the twelfth century. Whereas the island retained sound commercial
ties with the Umayyad Levant in the seventh and eighth centuries,
at the same time politically and economically it remained part of
the Byzantine sphere. This belies the idea of Cyprus as an
independent province only loosely tied to Constantinople and allows
us to draw a different picture of the cultural identities,
political practices and hierarchy of wealth and power in Cyprus
during the passage from Late Antiquity to the early Middle Ages.
The Byzantine world contained many important cities throughout its
empire. Although it was not ‘urban’ in the sense of the word
today, its cities played a far more fundamental role than those of
its European neighbours. This book, through a collection of
twenty-four essays, discusses aspects of, and different approaches
to, Byzantine urbanism from the early to late Byzantine periods. It
provides both a chronological and thematic perspective to the study
of Byzantine cities, bringing together literary, documentary, and
archival sources with archaeological results, material culture, art
and architecture resulting in a rich synthesis of the variety of
regional and sub-regional transformations of Byzantine urban
landscapes. Organized into four sections, this book covers: Theory
and Historiography, Geography and Economy, Architecture and the
Built Environment, and Daily Life and Material Culture. It includes
more specialized accounts that address the centripetal role of
Constantinople and its broader influence across the empire. Such
new perspectives help to challenge the historiographical balance
between ‘margins and metropolis,’ and also to include
geographical areas often regarded as peripheral, like the coastal
urban centers of the Byzantine Mediterranean as well as cities on
islands, such as Crete, Cyprus, and Sicily which have more recently
yielded well-excavated and stratigraphically-sound urban sites. The
Routledge Handbook of the Byzantine City provides both an overview
and detailed study of the Byzantine city to specialist scholars,
students, and enthusiasts alike, and therefore will appeal to all
those interested in Byzantine urbanism and society, as well as
those studying medieval society in general.
Research on early medieval Cyprus has focused on the late antique
"golden age" (late fourth/early fifth to seventh century) and the
so-called Byzantine "Reconquista" (post-AD 965) while overlooking
the intervening period. This phase was characterized, supposedly,
by the division of the political sovereignty between the Umayyads
and the Byzantines, bringing about the social and demographic
dislocation of the population of the island. This book proposes a
different story of continuities and slow transformations in the
fate of Cyprus between the late sixth and the early ninth
centuries. Analysis of new archaeological evidence shows signs of a
continuing link to Constantinople. Moreover, together with a
reassessment of the literary evidence, archaeology and material
culture help us to reappraise the impact of Arab naval raids and
contextualize the confrontational episodes throughout the ebb and
flow of Eastern Mediterranean history: the political influence of
the Caliphate looked stronger in the second half of the seventh
century, the administrative and ecclesiastical influence of the
Byzantine empire was held sway from the beginning of the eighth to
the twelfth century. Whereas the island retained sound commercial
ties with the Umayyad Levant in the seventh and eighth centuries,
at the same time politically and economically it remained part of
the Byzantine sphere. This belies the idea of Cyprus as an
independent province only loosely tied to Constantinople and allows
us to draw a different picture of the cultural identities,
political practices and hierarchy of wealth and power in Cyprus
during the passage from Late Antiquity to the early Middle Ages.
This book explores the Byzantine city and the changes it went
through from 610 to 1204. Throughout this period, cities were
always the centers of political and social life for both secular
and religious authorities, and, furthermore, the focus of the
economic interests of local landowning elites. This book therefore
examines the regional and subregional trajectories in the urban
function, landscape, structure and fabric of Byzantium's cities,
synthesizing the most cutting-edge archaeological excavations, the
results of analyses of material culture (including ceramics, coins,
and seals) and a reassessment of the documentary and hagiographical
sources. The transformation the Byzantine urban landscape underwent
from the seventh to thirteenth centuries can afford us a better
grasp of changes to the Byzantine central and provincial
administrative apparatus; their fiscal machinery, military
institutions, socio-economic structures and religious organization.
This book will be of interest to students and researchers of the
history, archaeology and architecture of Byzantium.
This book explores the Byzantine city and the changes it went
through from 610 to 1204. Throughout this period, cities were
always the centers of political and social life for both secular
and religious authorities, and, furthermore, the focus of the
economic interests of local landowning elites. This book therefore
examines the regional and subregional trajectories in the urban
function, landscape, structure and fabric of Byzantium's cities,
synthesizing the most cutting-edge archaeological excavations, the
results of analyses of material culture (including ceramics, coins,
and seals) and a reassessment of the documentary and hagiographical
sources. The transformation the Byzantine urban landscape underwent
from the seventh to thirteenth centuries can afford us a better
grasp of changes to the Byzantine central and provincial
administrative apparatus; their fiscal machinery, military
institutions, socio-economic structures and religious organization.
This book will be of interest to students and researchers of the
history, archaeology and architecture of Byzantium.
In this work the author analyses how the nature and characteristics
of urbanism in Byzantium changed between the sixth and the eighth
century AD. Focusing on Athens, Gortyn, Ephesos and Amastris, the
author gives a detailed analysis of each urban centre in its own
regional context, allowing him to draw a nuanced model of Byzantine
urbanism that unifies the regional models set out in each case
study and helps explain the specific outcomes of Byzantine urbanism
from late Antiquity to the early middle ages, taking into
consideration the dialectic between coastal and mainland sites and
the peculiarities of each geographical area.
The Mediterranean, or 'Middle Sea', has long been regarded as the
symbolic centre of European civilization. The binding water between
Turkey, the Middle East, the trading communities of North Africa,
and the European powerhouses Italy, France and Greece, a history of
this sea is a new and vital way of understanding the history of the
societies which have flourished in the region. The Islands of the
Eastern Mediterranean charts the story of the water as both
connector and border, and analyses the islands role in world
history. Covering Mehmed II's efforts to conquer the old Roman
Empire, through to the claims of Rhodes and the role of the Aegean
Islands in Ottoman international relations, to the British in
Cyprus and the present-day tensions, this book's interconnected
essays from leading scholars form a tapestry of knowledge.
Together, they represent a new frontier in the way in which we look
at sea histories. This will become essential reading for scholars
of History, International Relations, Trade and Migration.
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